He huffs, licks my nose, and goes right back to glaring.
Except it’s not me he’s glaring at.
Following his stare over my shoulder, my heart stalls at the bare legs at my stove. I track the long limbs up, to my Vipers tee that barely covers her ass. Up farther, to the vibrant red hair falling down her back as she fucking cooks in my kitchen.
“He’s being super grumpy this morning,” a chipper voice tells me as she adds bacon to the sizzling frying pan. “I made his breakfast an hour ago, but he hasn’t touched it. Just keeps staring at me.”
Rising slowly, I glare at the back of the fiery redhead, waiting for it to, oh, I donno…combust? My fists clench, blood thundering in my ears. Bear climbs to his feet at my side, a low growl rumbling in his chest.
“There he goes again with the growling. You’re babying him too much, Adam. You always have.”
“Get the fuck out of my house.”
My ex-girlfriend spins, patronizing blue eyes pinning me with a pout I used to crumble for.
“Is that any way to talk to me, honey?” She saunters over, fingertips sliding through my patch of chest hair before her palm curves around my neck. “Once upon a time, this house was mine too.”
“And then you fucked someone else in my bed.” I had to get a new mattress, and Carter talked me into the outrageously expensive one I sleep on now. A win-win, really, all things considered.
She slings an arm around my neck, giving me those big blue eyes I used to love. “If you’d paid me more attention, I wouldn’t have looked for it elsewhere. But I’m willing to move past it if you are.” Her lower lip slides between her teeth. “You seemed willing last night when you let me in.”
Let her in? Drunk or sober, there’s no fucking way I’d let this she-devil into my home.
I sort through last night’s memories as I pry her arm off me but come up empty. “I didn’t let you in.”
“Then how did I get in here, Adam? Why am I in your T-shirt, making breakfast in your kitchen?”
“Beats me. Witches have all kinds of superpowers, I’ve heard.” Pushing by her, I turn off the stovetop and shift the pan off the burner, jaw clenched.
This isn’t the quiet girl whose hand was clammy when I reached for it on our first date. Not the woman I gave my virginity to at seventeen. Not the partner I built dreams with, shaped my life around.
Soft hands glide slowly down my back, and I close my eyes as she wraps her arms around my waist, stepping into me.
“I miss you,” Courtney whispers. “Please, Adam. We can be happy again.” Warm lips touch my shoulder, and for a moment, I sink into the connection.
I want something . I want to be needed. Appreciated. Loved .
No, I don’t just want it. I fucking crave it.
And she can’t give me any of that.
“I deserve more.” Turning, I pull her arms away and take her chin in my hand, forcing her eyes to mine, making sure she hears my words. This will be the last time I speak them. “I deserve more than what you can give me, Courtney. I deserve better.”
And I’ll find it.
Her eyes widen, glossing over as she shakes her head. “No. Adam, no.”
“Yes. There’s nothing left. Walk away, and don’t come back.”
I walk forward, forcing her down the hall, until her back hits my front door.
Her expression holds all the betrayal of a master manipulator. “How can you throw away everything we had? I’ve given you so much time to get over this, Adam. Why can’t you get over this?”
Does anybody ever really get over coming home to his girlfriend screwing another guy in their bed, the engagement ring he’d planned to give her tucked in his underwear drawer?
I open the closet, finding her purse and shoes tucked neatly inside, like she’d already decided on staying. I shove them into her hands and look at the shirt she’s wearing. I don’t want to know how she got her hands on that. “Give me my fucking shirt, and leave.”
Her gaze darkens, and she tugs the shirt over her head, chucking it to my feet.
“Jesus Christ,” I mutter as she stands before me, stark naked.
“Might as well get a good look,” Courtney snaps, tearing a dress from her purse. She slips it over her head before stepping into panties. “It’ll be the last time you ever see this body.”
“Hopefully.”
She gasps, and her palm strikes my cheek.
I whip open the front door. “Get out.”
Bear barks his agreement at my side, making Courtney jump.
She steps onto the porch and opens her mouth, but before she can use it, I slam the door in her face.
Bear nudges my thigh with his wet nose. He smiles up at me, tongue hanging out his mouth, and I bark a laugh.
“I thought it was a nightmare too,” I tell him, scratching his ears and heading back to the kitchen. “How else does Voldemort show up here?”
Bear woofs, prancing ahead to devour his breakfast while I survey the disaster before me. The inside of my house isn’t too bad, but I cringe at the sight of my backyard. Floating unicorns litter my pool, and among them, two giant inflatable penises Carter and Emmett were sword fighting with at one point. Thank you very much, Cara, for bringing those . Red cups are scattered across the yard, a few haphazard bikinis, even though I don’t remember a single naked girl in my pool last night. In fact, Jaxon’s the only one who threatened to take off his bathing suit.
Cleaning is last on the list of things I want to do right now. I’m desperate for a Big Mac, or five, so I head upstairs to dress, forgoing the mess.
One of the bedroom doors opens, and Jaxon slips out, tugging a shirt over his head. He grins, shoving his fingers through his hair before hiding it beneath a ball cap. “Where’d you disappear to last night?”
“Huh? Disappear?”
“You dropped off the face of the earth, bud. Figured you went to bed. You don’t remember? Those keg stands really fucked you, huh?”
I rub my temple. “I haven’t done a keg stand since high school.”
“And yet you let Carter talk you into doing three of them.”
I let Carter talk me into a lot of things when I’ve been drinking, because he has a way of making most things sound like ingenious ideas. Last night excluded, obviously, because I’m still trying to figure out how and when Courtney got in here.
“Hey, did you happen to see a redhead here last night?” Jaxon only joined our team last year, so he never had the displeasure of meeting Courtney. He’s also the only other single guy in our group, so if anyone was around long enough last night to notice her, it’d be him.
“Redhead? Is this the devil you were referring to last night?”
“The—what?”
He shrugs. “Yeah, we were in the pool with some girls after Carter, Garrett, and Em left, and a new wave of people showed up. All of a sudden, your eyes got all huge and you said, ‘Holy fuck. The devil has risen.’ Then you jumped out of the pool, said, ‘I was never here,’ and ran away like your ass was on fire.”
Shit. Okay, so she was definitely here. I shudder at the thought, but at least I’m certain I’d never touch her again, no matter what she insinuated. But what about that blonde from earlier? The one who thanked me for the, um…fun . Was she talking about the party, or…?